On this day, December 6

1704

The Battle of Chamkaur occured in India where the vastly outnumbered group of Sikh Khalsa soldiers managed to defeat a Mughal army.

1790

The U.S. Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.

1877

The Washington Post published its first edition.

1884

Construction on the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., was completed.

1897

London became the first city in the world to have licensed taxicabs.

1904

The Monroe Doctrine was unveiled by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should they deem any Latin American governments incapable or unstable.

1917

Finland declared its independence from Soviet Russia.

1921

The Irish war of Independence concluded with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, establishing a self-governing, free Irish state within a year..

1956

A particularly violent water polo match was played between Hungary and the USSR at the Summer Olympics in Melbourne against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

1971

The Indo-Pakistani War began when Pakistan severed diplomatic relations with India.

1978

Spain ratified its new constitution.

1998

Hugo Chávez was victorious in the Venezuelan presidential elections.

2006

NASA released photos taken by the Mars Global Surveyor that suggested the presence of liquid water on Mars.

2015

For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela lost its majority in parliament.